The Cowboy's Pride and Joy

He deserves to know.

Hadn’t that sentence been repeating over and over again in her mind for the last year or more? Cass glanced across the room to where her infant son lay sleeping, completely oblivious to the family battle going on within feet of him.

Jake’s son.

A child he knew nothing about.

Oh, she’d had an internal war over telling him or not ever since the pregnancy test read positive. She knew she should tell him, but at the same time, he’d made it more than clear that family wasn’t important to him. Besides, during their time together, they’d agreed that their situation was temporary. A baby wasn’t temporary.

But it was more than that and she knew it. Though she had wanted to tell Jake about his son, she hadn’t because she hadn’t wanted to risk her baby’s heart.

What if Jake got involved and then eventually pulled back? What if Luke was old enough to feel his father’s rejection as brutally as she had felt her own dad’s absence? No. She wouldn’t do that to her child.

Although now, she might not have a choice.

“Why now?” she demanded, looking from one to the other of them in turn. “Why not six months ago? Or six months from now?”

“Because it’s Christmas,” Claud said in a huff. “It’s past time he knew, Cass. And with the holidays and all...”

“Damn it Cass,” Dave put in, “we’re not going to feel guilty about this. You need the help and he needs to know he’s a father.”

“It was my decision,” she argued. “Jake didn’t want kids, so I didn’t tell him.”

“Yeah, that was before you got pregnant. It’s easy enough to dismiss having children when it’s theoretical. But when it’s real, that’s different.” Dave’s voice tightened. “He’d change his mind damn quick if he knew he had a son.”

Her gaze shifted to him. “You don’t know that.”

“I’m a father. I know.”

“And even if he doesn’t change his mind,” Claudia added, “so what? The least he can do is help support Luke so it all doesn’t fall on you.”

Shaking her head, Cass said, “I don’t want his money.”

“Maybe not, but you need it,” her stubborn sister countered. “Ever since you quit your job with Hunter Media, you’ve been scrambling.”

“Claud’s right,” Dave said. “There’s no need for you to kill yourself like this, Cass.”

“You know darn well money’s been tight whether you want to admit it or not,” Claudia put in.

“I have plenty of clients,” Cass argued, getting more defensive by the moment. Yes, she missed that healthy paycheck from Hunter Media, but she’d had to quit that job when she found out she was pregnant. How could she have kept on working for her son’s grandmother and not tell the woman? But if she had told Elise, then Elise would have told her son and then Jake would have felt trapped into doing whatever the heck he considered the right thing and who needed any of that?

“Your clients are all great, but they’re small-time and they don’t pay you enough.”

True, she was forced to admit—albeit silently, since she didn’t want to give her siblings any more ammo to use against her. Her at-home billing business hadn’t grown as quickly as she’d hoped, but it would.

“I can work from home on my laptop and that means I can be here with Luke. Whatever’s missing from my old paycheck is saved by not needing day care.”

“Uh-huh.” Dave spoke again and Cass swung her gaze back to him. “But you’ll need a bigger apartment soon and hopefully in a better neighborhood. That takes money, and there’s no reason Jake can’t help support his son.”

God, she felt as if she were being attacked from all sides by the people who loved her best. She knew they were doing it because they cared, but what they’d done could change everything. Ruin everything.

“You don’t get it.” Cass stood up, unfolded the letter she had already read in disbelief a dozen times and shook it until the heavy paper rattled like dead leaves. “Claudia told Elise about Luke and now Elise is threatening to take him away from me.”

Dave didn’t bother reading the letter. He didn’t have to. When Cass had called this emergency family meeting, she’d read the letter over the phone to both of her siblings.

“She can’t do that.”

“Of course she can,” Cass snapped. “She’s rich. I’m not. Luke is her grandson.”